Summary
9 medulloblastomas were investigated by electron microscopy. They all showed a rather unique histological and cytological structure. The cells were differently shaped, had in general many cytoplasmic processes and only few organells. Special differentiations which would have made tumour elements look like glial or neural cells were not observed when the tissue samples under investigation were carefully selected by light microscopical examination. Glial or neural elements were found only in infiltration zones where no clear distinction between pre-existing cerebellar and tumourous tissues could be made by conventional histological investigation. Medulloblastomas have essentially the same appearance as parvicellular sarcomas or embryonic tissues. Their common characteristic, viz. that they usually show no special differentiation, is also the most specific quality of medulloblastomas.
Zusammenfassung
9 Medulloblastome wurden elektronenmikroskopisch untersucht. Sie zeigten eine relativ einheitliche histologische und cytologische Struktur. Die Tumorzellen haben eine wechselnde Form, wenig Organellen und in der Regel zahlreiche cytoplasmatische Fortsätze. In Gewebspartikeln, die nach der vorherigen lichtmikroskopischen Untersuchung aus dem Tumorzentrum stammten, wurden keine Zellen mit glialer oder neuronaler Differenzierung beobachtet. Nur in den am Tumorrand gelegenen Infiltrationszonen, wo die Tumorgrenze nicht mehr sicher zu bestimmen war, fanden sich gliale oder neuronale Zellelemente. — Das Medulloblastom hat die wesentlichen morphologischen Kriterien der kleinzelligen Sarkome und des embryonalen Gewebes. Deren gemeinsames Charakteristicum, daß sie nämlich keine speziellen Differenzierungen besitzen, ist auch eine spezifische Eigenschaft des Medulloblastoms.
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Matakas, F., Cervós-Navarro, J. & Gullotta, F. The ultrastructure of medulloblastomas. Acta Neuropathol 16, 271–284 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686892
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686892